Premier League

MANCHESTER UNITED star Scott McTominay is set to be sidelined for three weeks with injury.The 27-year-old is the Red Devils’ joint-top scorer in the Premier League with seven goals.Scott McTominay is United’s joint-top Prem goalscorerCredit: RexMcTominay hyper-extended his knee against ChelseaCredit: AlamyRasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are all level with him at the top of the goalscoring charts.McTominay reportedly hyper-extended his knee in the dramatic 4-3 defeat to Chelsea last week.The Mail claim he will miss the next two to three matches.It is a huge blow for Man Utd as they face an uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.READ MORE ON MAN UTDErik ten Hag’s men sit sixth in the Prem table, 11 points behind both Tottenham and Aston Villa, who occupy fourth and fifth place.McTominay’s injury means he also looks set to miss the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry on April 21.He has featured 36 times this season and has missed a total of just seven games in all competitions.Man Utd are in the midst of an injury crisis with defensive options like Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans all out.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSTen Hag recently admitted he does not expect any of them back “at short notice”.And it could mean another start for 19-year-old centre-back Willy Kambwala.Man Utd fans joke Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given Scott McTominay ‘new role’ with ‘cringiest advert ever seen’Meanwhile, there are fresh concerns about Marcus Rashford after he picked up a knock in the thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the weekend.There is uncertainty over whether will be fit to play against Bournemouth on Saturday.Willy Kambwala wants to become rock at the back for Man Utd… but Erik ten Hag probably won’t be around to see itBy Ken Lawrence
ERIK TEN HAG insists he is still the right man to take Manchester United forward.
The Dutchman believes he can recapture their former glories, despite escaping for the second time in a row what could have been humiliation by Liverpool at the weekend.
And teen Willy Kambwala revealed his “passion” is to become a rock at the heart of United’s defence after making just his second start of the season against their bitter rivals.
United trailed 1-0 at half-time on Sunday but fought back to take a 2-1 lead before Mo Salah’s 84th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
Ten Hag was pleased with the second-half performance, declaring it “another signal and message for the future,” before adding, “the team and squad have high potential.”
Yet the Old Trafford chief sounds more and more like he has his finger stuck in a leaky dyke and does not think it is going to hold.
Comeback or not, United still threw away a lead for the third time in eight days following their 4-3 defeat to Chelsea and 1-1 draw with Brentford — both deep into injury time.
And his body language suggests he expects to be crossing it to go back to Holland with his P45 this summer
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LIVERPOOL are at risk of a decline after Jurgen Klopp leaves, according to John Arne Riise.The Reds legend fears his former club could face a similar fate to Manchester United in the 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.John Arne Riise fears Liverpool could face a similar decline to Manchester UnitedCredit: PA:Press AssociationUnited have not won a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit in 2013Credit: AP:Associated PressFerguson retired in 2013 following more then 26 years as United manager.However, the club have failed to add to the 13 Premier League titles he won in the 11 years since and are on their fifth permanent manager in that period.Liverpool now face the task of replacing their own iconic manager as Jurgen Klopp steps down at the end of the season.Since his appointment in 2015, the Reds have won eight major trophies, including both the Champions League and Premier League.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLRiise fears his old side are at risk of a decline, telling BoyleSports: “There is always a risk of a Fergie-style decline once Klopp leaves.”That’s always a danger. When a manager leaves, will all the players stay? Who is coming in? Having that connection means a lot to players, and will they stay when he leaves? Will they have the same belief when a new manager comes in?”It doesn’t always have to be the manager’s fault, if the players just don’t have the same feeling towards them. That’s why the next manager is a huge step for the club.”So it’s not only who gets appointed, it’s who is going to stay? Who will tell their agent they want to leave now Klopp has left?”Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSKlopp could still add to his trophy haul before departing, with Liverpool eyeing both a league title and the Europa League this term.Meanwhile, his replacement has reportedly been identified after the club reached a “verbal agreement” with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.Liverpool ‘to meet top manager target’s agent TOMORROW as Reds look to finalise personal terms to replace Jurgen Klopp’As for Riise, the ex-left-back made 348 appearances during seven years at Anfield.The Norwegian was also part of the side which beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.Klopp is stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of the seasonCredit: Getty More

ARSENAL have a psychological advantage in the Premier League title race.That is according to former Tottenham defender Eric Dier – who believes his Spurs side suffered from playing after rivals Leicester back in 2016.Arsenal have been given an edge for the Premier League title run-inCredit: GettyHow the title race fixtures compareHere is how the fixture times for the confirmed games look:

Man City (Luton H) – 3pm SaturdayLiverpool (Palace H) – 2pm SundayArsenal (Villa H) – 4pm Sunday
Arsenal (Wolves A) – 7.30pm SaturdayLiverpool (Fulham A) – 4.30pm SundayNO MAN CITY FIXTURE
Arsenal (Chelsea H) – 8pm TuesdayLiverpool (Everton A) – 8pm WednesdayMan City (Brighton A) 8pm Thursday
Liverpool (West Ham A) – 12.30 SaturdayArsenal (Spurs A) – 2pm SundayMan City (Forest A) – 4.30 Sunday
Arsenal (Bournemouth H) – 12.30pm SaturdayMan City (Wolves H) – 5.30pm SaturdayLiverpool (Spurs H) – 4.30pm Sunday

Liverpool and Manchester City play first on just one occasion eachCredit: GettyMauricio Pochettino’s side ended up finishing 11 points adrift of champions Leicester eight years ago – and were even overhauled by Arsenal on the final day.But until their penultimate away game of the campaign against Chelsea – which would become known as the “The Battle of the Bridge” – their hopes of a first Premier League title were still alive.Yet Dier, 30, has now opened up about having to watch Leicester win before Tottenham played, admitting it had a mental impact on the North London side.Speaking about Bayern Munich losing ground to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, he told The Overlap: “Obviously you never want to rule out winning the league, but the defeat against Borussia Dortmund was a bit of a sucker punch.READ MORE ON ARSENAL”I’ve been in that situation before with Tottenham when Leicester were going for the title.”I felt it was really unfair at the time because they seemed to play before us every single week, and it was never like we can win first and put the pressure on them.”Every weekend was a bit of a sucker punch because they would win their game, so we were never able to gain any momentum.”With these comments in mind, SunSport has taken a look at the confirmed times of Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool’s games – with Mikel Arteta’s men playing first in three of the next five fixtures.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSMan City only play first this weekend when they host Luton at 3pm on SaturdayCredit: AlamyHow the title run-ins compareIt’s going to go right down to the wire with just one point separating the top three – but how do Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City’s run-ins compare?

ARSENAL: Aston Villa (H), Wolves (A) Chelsea (H), Spurs (A), Bournemouth (H), Man Utd (A) and Everton (H)
LIVERPOOL: Crystal Palace (H), Fulham (A), Everton (A), West Ham (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A), Wolves (H)
MAN CITY: Luton (H), Brighton (A), Nottingham Forest (A), Wolves (H), Fulham (A), West Ham (H) and Tottenham (A TBC)

The times and dates for the round of fixtures on the weekend of May 11 have not yet been confirmed, while all three sides will play at the same time on the final day, May 19.But Arsenal are the first to kick-off when they take on Wolves, Chelsea and Bournemouth.Top ten greatest Premier League players of all time as Kevin de Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo both miss out on top spotAnd Man City will be one game behind Arsenal and Liverpool from April 21 as they miss a round of fixtures to play Chelsea in the FA Cup.However, times aside, Arsenal still have the most difficult run-in with trips to Tottenham and Manchester United the stand-out fixtures.Liverpool and Man City also face Spurs, with Pep Guardiola’s side not yet having a confirmed date for their clash away at Ange Postecoglou’s men.There are only two times when Arsenal are not playing first – one of which is this weekend when they host Aston Villa after Man City and Liverpool’s games.Then on April 27 they face Tottenham the day after Jurgen Klopp’s men go to West Ham.How Arteta made Arsenal horrible again, with Tony Pulis tactic and gentle star turned into Diego Costa-style hate figureBy Dave Kidd
BOTTLERS, chokers, shandy-drinking southern softies.
These were the charges levelled at Arsenal when they blew the title last season.
And even if the actual reason they failed was because William Saliba got injured and Rob Holding had to start, Mikel Arteta clearly took those accusations to heart.
If his team are not crowned champions next month, the Gunners boss has categorically ensured that they won’t go down being accused of nicey-niceyness.
Because, as well as being thrillingly entertaining and free-scoring when they want to be, this season’s Arsenal are also thoroughly horrible.They are not here to make friends. They are not interested in being anybody’s second-favourite team.
And so, six days after stink-bombing the Etihad with a display of Mourinho-esque anti-football for a 0-0 draw, Arsenal turned up at the home of former bogey-team Brighton and s***housed their way to a thoroughly impressive 3-0 win.
How wonderful for the travelling Gooners to witness Ben White — against his former club — going down as if he’d taken a bullet to his neck when Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan brushed against him.
White is renowned as a gentle and decent bloke, intelligent enough to challenge the zeitgeist and claim there might be things in life other than football.
And yet suddenly he’s become some Diego Costa-style anti-hero hate figure, his wife goading the masses by posting social-media pictures of them playing a childish card game on a sun lounger after he’d refused an international call-up.
Because Arsenal are horrible again. Even Ben White is a villain.And that might just be Arteta’s greatest triumph.
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ERIK TEN HAG has been dealt a major blow with his biggest ally at Old Trafford, football director John Murtough, stepping down.Murtough, who has been at Manchester United for 11 years, is the latest victim of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sweeping changes behind the scenes.Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United remains in doubtCredit: APFormer chief executive Richard Arnold announced he was stepping down in November of last year after overseeing the incredible money making commercial side of the club.It was Murtough and Arnold who went to Amsterdam to interview Ten Hag when they were looking for a successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.The pair were so impressed by the then Ajax manager’s knowledge of United and attention to detail that they were convinced he was the right man.They have supported him ever since with Murtough constantly talking up the manager’s strengths and a need for patience during the Dutchman’s difficult second season in charge.READ MORE MAN UTD NEWSNow Ten Hag will feel even more isolated without any public statement of support from new part owner Ratcliffe who has control of 27.7 per cent of the club.The owning Glazer family has given the Ineos chief power over the football side of the Red Devils and he has already made major changes.Omar Berrada was poached from Manchester City to become the new CEO.Jason Wilcox has quit Southampton to become technical director, while Dan Ashworth is leaving Newcastle effectively to take on Murtough’s role.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSAll have been placed are gardening leave by their former clubs.The new arrivals will also put into doubt whether former player Darren Fletcher will stay at the club as he is their current technical director.Man Utd’s top targets for the transfer windowIt was initially thought that Murtough, 53, would be move into a different role at the club but has decided to stand down altogether.Murtough joined United in 2013 having previously worked at Fulham and Everton.Inside Ratcliffe’s Man Utd plansEverything you need to know as Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes charge at Manchester United…
He was well liked at Old Trafford and worked tirelessly behind the scenes on the process of transferring Academy graduates into the first team.He was also behind a number of major signings at the club as he tried to create a better recruitment model. More

FORGOTTEN Premier League flop Terence Kongolo has set a new red card record after his disastrous transfer to Austria.The 30-year-old defender is currently on loan at Rapid Vienna from Fulham.Fulham and Huddersfield flop Terence Kongolo has set a record at his new clubCredit: RexThe defender has picked up three red cards in just seven league outingsCredit: GettyBut injuries and suspensions have already limited him to just seven league appearances.Kongolo managed to pick up two red cards in his first six outings for the Austrians.He was first sent off in September’s 3-3 draw with Rapid Wien.And Kongolo was then sent for an early bath in December’s 2-1 win at WSG Tirol.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHowever, he ended up doing the unthinkable by picking up a third red card in what was just his seventh match.Kongolo received his marching orders in last month’s 1-1 draw with Austria Lustenau.And in doing so, he broke a 19-year-old Austrian league record for the most amount of red cards in the fewest amount of games.What’s even more bizarre is that in nearly 200 games prior to his Vienna move, Kongolo had been sent off just once.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERAnd fans couldn’t help reacting to the amazing stat.One said: “Madrid finally found their next Ramos.”Football icons’ strange hobbiesAnother declared: “You know what, that is kind of impressive.”One noted: “The game is back.”Another added: “My centre-back in Football Manager does this in his sleep.”Kongolo was previously once one of the top young defenders in Europe after winning the Dutch title with Feyenoord in 2017.He was also capped four times by Holland during that time.And Kongolo had a brief spell at Monaco before joining Huddersfield Town for their Premier League campaign in 2018.However, he failed to impress in 60 matches and ended up at Fulham, initially on loan, in 2019.READ MORE SUN STORIESKongolo managed just four games for the Cottagers and spent last season at Le Havre before joining Vienna in the summer.But after his red card horror show, the Austrians are likely to send him back to London.Terence Kongolo’s career statsThose numbers in full:

Feyenoord, 2011-2017: 138 games, 3 goals

Monaco, 2017-2018: 6 games, 0 goals

Huddersfield, 2018-2020: 60 games, 1 goal

Fulham, 2019-2024: 4 games, 0 goals

Le Havre, 2022-23: 15 games, 0 goals

Rapid Vienna, 2023-2024: 10 games, 0 goals

Holland, 2014-2018: 4 games, 0 goals

Trophies: Eredivisie, Dutch Cup (Feyenoord) More

RIO FERDINAND has slammed Erik ten Hag’s kamikaze football and questioned his claim about Manchester United’s style of play.The former Red Devils star criticised United following their 2-2 draw with Liverpool.Rio Ferdinand slammed Erik ten Hag’s ‘kamikaze’ footballCredit: AlamyThe pundit dismissed Ten Hag’s ‘style of football’ claimCredit: AFPFerdinand was alarmed at United’s lack of control in that clash, with Ten Hag’s side conceding 28 shots.They allowed Chelsea the same number of shots last week and 31 against Brentford in the match prior to that, yet almost won both games.Ferdinand, 45, labelled United’s football as “kamikaze” and suggested he has yet to see a style of play implemented, despite Ten Hag’s claim.He said on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel: “The manager came out before and was saying ‘if anyone can’t see the style of play then I don’t know what you’re looking at’ and basically ‘we have got a style of play’.READ MORE ON MAN UTD”For the life of me I give him the benefit of the doubt every time and am looking at him thinking every time ‘what is it’?”I said after the game [vs Liverpool] if kamikaze, open sesame, no control of the game football is what we’re looking for, he has it nailed on and is doing a great job at it because that’s what we’re playing.”You can put that down to injuries, we have a load of injuries but a lot of teams have injuries and they still play a style of football they are trying to achieve. “I don’t think Ten Hag’s style is this kamikaze chaos football.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERWilly Kambwala wants to become rock at the back for Man Utd… but Erik ten Hag probably won’t be around to see itBy Ken Lawrence
ERIK TEN HAG insists he is still the right man to take Manchester United forward.
The Dutchman believes he can recapture their former glories, despite escaping for the second time in a row what could have been humiliation by Liverpool at the weekend.
And teen Willy Kambwala revealed his “passion” is to become a rock at the heart of United’s defence after making just his second start of the season against their bitter rivals.
United trailed 1-0 at half-time on Sunday but fought back to take a 2-1 lead before Mo Salah’s 84th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
Ten Hag was pleased with the second-half performance, declaring it “another signal and message for the future,” before adding, “the team and squad have high potential.”
Yet the Old Trafford chief sounds more and more like he has his finger stuck in a leaky dyke and does not think it is going to hold.
Comeback or not, United still threw away a lead for the third time in eight days following their 4-3 defeat to Chelsea and 1-1 draw with Brentford — both deep into injury time.
And his body language suggests he expects to be crossing it to go back to Holland with his P45 this summer
Click here to read Ken Lawrence’s comment piece in full.
To read more from Ken Lawrence, click here.

Ferdinand continued his criticism by claiming Ten Hag’s style is bringing the worst out of some United stars, including Casemiro.He added: “That type of football leads to seeing players at their worst at times, for instance Casemiro for all he has won and the great player he has been, he will look a worse player when the tactics are the way they are.It’s baffling,’ says Gary Neville as he blasts Ten Hag’s coaching and reveals what Man Utd are ‘worst in the league at'”Open transition football with big spaces around him, in that midfield at times another midfielder is 20 yards away.”That never happened at Real Madrid so you don’t see his worst traits which is his mobility, same with Kobbie Mainoo, so you do things with a structure so you don’t see that.”We are doing things where you are going to see exactly their worst trait so it makes them look worse at times. You look at Hojlund, how many balls did we get in the box for him, balls for him to run onto, don’t seem to be playing to his strengths.”Then you have a 19-year-old centre-back [Kwambala], zero protection in front of him.”The amount of times Liverpool threaded the ball from the back straight to an attacking midfield player, that’s why I say he has had a magnificent performance as he has had to deal with things a structured team wouldn’t have to deal with as much.”There’s a lot of thing going on in the team where we aren’t seeing the best of our players and that’s because of the way the team is set up.” More

ERIC DIER has revealed the “unfair” title race decision which gave Tottenham “a sucker punch every week” against Leicester.The Foxes soared to Premier League victory in the 2015-16 season as stars like Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante gave their all for Claudio Ranieri.Eric Dier has opened up on the ‘unfair sucker punch’ that stopped Spurs winning a titleCredit: ReutersDier and Tottenham were pipped to the Premier League by Leicester in the 2015-16 seasonCredit: Getty Images – GettyNobody was expecting Leicester to even stay up that term after they narrowly avoided relegation the year before.But their miracle achievement was almost undone by a relentless Tottenham side guided by Mauricio Pochettino.The Londoners almost went top of the league in March 2016 before drawing with Arsenal.And their efforts were finally undone with a famous 2-2 draw at Chelsea in a furious game dubbed the ‘Battle of the Bridge’.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHowever, Dier believes Tottenham’s title hopes were constantly made harder by the fact that they almost always played second to Leicester each weekend.The 30-year-old defender told Gary Neville on the Overlap that he and his Spurs teammates would watch in dismay as the Foxes bagged victory after victory in earlier kick-offs.It meant Tottenham would have to win their game just to stay in touch.And Dier believes there are parallels to be drawn with the current Bundesliga title race.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERBayer Leverkusen are just one win away from becoming champions after a glorious unbeaten campaign.But Dier feels his Bayern Munich side have never had the chance to put the pressure on due to the fixture scheduling.Ange Postecoglou does NO tactical work in training reveals former Tottenham star Eric DierLamenting the “unfair sucker punch”, Dier said: “Obviously you never want to rule out winning the league, but the defeat against Borussia Dortmund was a bit of a sucker punch.“I’ve been in that situation before with Tottenham when Leicester were going for the title.“I felt it was really unfair at the time because they seemed to play before us every single week, and it was never like we can win first and put the pressure on them.“Every weekend was a bit of a sucker punch because they would win their game, so we were never able to gain any momentum.”*Eric Dier was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky BetEric Dier’s career statsThose numbers in full:

Sporting Lisbon, 2012-2014: 31 games, 1 goal
Tottenham, 2014-2024: 365 games, 13 goals
Bayern Munich, 2024: 11 games, 0 goals
England, 2015-2022: 49 games, 3 goals More